Obituary of Gary J. Hilton

Gary John Hilton, Sr., 77, of Ewing and Avalon, NJ, died peacefully at home on Friday December 15, 2017. Born in Trenton, Gary was a lifelong area resident. He attended the Hun School of Princeton and graduated from Trenton Central High School. An exceptional athlete, he played baseball and was a proud member of the 1956 undefeated football team. He earned a football scholarship to Virginia Tech and finished his undergraduate degree while continuing to play football at Trenton State College. He earned his master’s degree from Rider College. He retired as the Acting Commissioner for the New Jersey Department of Corrections in 1998 after 39 years of dedicated service. He began his career first serving as a Corrections Officer at the N.J. Reformatory in Bordentown in 1959. He was a Classification Officer at the Training School for Boys, Jamesburg; Assistant Superintendent at the Training School for Boys, Skillman; Acting Superintendent, Youth Center, Yardville; the first male Superintendent at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility, Clinton; Superintendent of the New Jersey State Prison, Trenton; Assistant Commissioner; Deputy Commissioner and Chief of Staff. After his retirement from the state, he continued his career with the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office as the Director of Corrections and Juvenile Services. In 2002 he founded PaigePlus, LLC, a comprehensive correctional service and consulting company. He was a technical consultant for the National Institute of Corrections, US Department of Justice and an instructor at the National Corrections Academy in Boulder, Colorado, Mercer and Sussex County Community Colleges and the College of New Jersey. Internationally, he was a consultant and trainer for the Government of the Northern Marianas and a principal presenter for the Eastern Bloc countries on contemporary corrections in Budapest, Hungary. Throughout his career, Gary was the recipient of numerous recognitions, awards, proclamations and commendations, including a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Correctional Association. A long time member of the Trenton Country Club, he was an avid tennis and golf player. Gary was a member of various associations, advisory committees and boards throughout his life, including past president of both the Mercer County Chapter of the American Heart Association and the Hun School Parents Association. Son of the late Ernest and Elizabeth Almashie Hilton, husband of the late Carol Hutchinson Hilton, father of the late Gary J. Hilton Jr., and brother of the late Ernest “Jeff” Hilton, Gary is survived by his daughter Elizabeth “Betsy” Hansbury and her husband John; his grandchildren Wendy Paige Hansbury, Caroline Reagan Hansbury and Gary John Hilton “Trip” Hansbury; brother-in-law Rex Carpenter; sister-in-law Nancy Hilton; nieces and nephews Lynn Henry, Howard Carpenter, Susan Fiume, Beth Wellemeyer, Pitts Carpenter, Sean Spain, Wendy Wisniewski, Jeffrey Hilton, Kiersty McDougall, Lauren Jeff and their families. Funeral services for Gary will be held on Thursday at 10 AM at Poulson & Van Hise Funeral Directors, 650 Lawrence Road, Lawrenceville, NJ. Burial will follow in the Ewing Church Cemetery. Visitation for relatives and friends will be held Wednesday from 4 – 6 PM at the funeral home. Memorial contributions in Gary’s memory may be made to either Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Cardiac Center, 3401 Civic Center Blvd., Phila., PA 19104 or to A Love for Life, Pancreatic Cancer Research, 117 N. Lincoln Ave., Newtown, PA 18940 or at www.aloveforlife.us